


Semper Invicta

by Casey_Wolfe



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: falloutkinkmeme, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Pre-War, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 08:03:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6044173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casey_Wolfe/pseuds/Casey_Wolfe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It felt so natural to be walking into battle with men at his side.  So why did everything also seem… wrong?  With Danse around, the unease seemed to fade a bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Semper Invicta

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to make another version of the game events being a dream; this time with Danse. This is completely standalone from [Nick’s version](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5945029). I figure I’ll probably end up doing one for MacCready too if anyone is interested.
> 
> Note that Nora and Shaun don’t exist in this AU.
> 
> The title comes from the quest name when Danse makes you an Initiate.

It felt so natural- automatic rifle in hand, keeping a steady pace down the road with men at his side.  It felt right.

But then, at the same time it didn’t.  This place was wrong, foreign.  He supposed waking up 200 years in the future would do that, however there was more to it than that.

“General,” Preston spoke, drawing Nate’s attention.  Deacon was headed back their way from where he scouted ahead.

“Super Mutants dug in through the whole area,” Deacon reported.  “We’ll have to go around.”

“Damnit,” Nate grumbled.  He took a knee, motioning Deacon to do the same.  While the pair looked over the map on Nate’s Pip Boy to work out an alternate route that would take them safely around, Preston and MacCready turned their attention outward.

Even though MacCready was scanning the area for threats, he couldn’t help but quip, “I’m up for a fight.  Just sayin’.”

“And I’m up for keeping my organs in my body,” Nate deadpanned.  MacCready snorted in reply.  It was their usual verbal boxing match- all in good fun with no malicious intent of course.

After deciding what route to take, Nate ordered, “Alright.  Let’s move.  I’d like to get to this settlement before nightfall.”

There had been a call put out to the Minutemen for aid and naturally Preston volunteered to come along when Nate took the job himself.  Of course MacCready and Deacon were on board as well.  It seemed to always be the four of them taking on every battle the Commonwealth decided to throw at them.

Waking up to the world a shadow of what it was before the bombs, Nate was thankful to come across Preston and the other Quincy survivors in Concord.  It wasn’t long before Nate found himself helping to rebuild the Minutemen.  Not that it surprised Nate at all- once a soldier, always a soldier- and frankly he needed _something_ to do.

They found MacCready in Goodneighbor.  The man had come along for a fee but stayed because he actually discovered he liked the company.  He still didn’t really believe in the whole Minuteman cause- he was too jaded for that- but he considered Nate a true friend.

Then there was Deacon.  The spook of the Railroad had been shadowing them for a while as they traveled the wastes.  He had never been overly fond of the Minutemen but he wasn’t exactly opposed to the good they did either.  With the Railroad suffering heavy casualties from the Institute, they needed the alleys more than ever.

Nate agreed the Institute was everyone’s problem.  It was why the Minutemen and Railroad had an alliance of convenience- _“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”_ as it were.  Deacon was the liaison between the two, though he seemed to find himself hanging around the Castle more and more these days.

They had others they met along the way that wanted to lend their own support in the fight against the Institute- like Piper and Valentine over in Diamond City and that ghoul, Mayor Hancock.

They weren’t soldiers though.  Nate knew about being a soldier.  Preston did.  Mac knew blood and battle as much as either of them, even if he did it for caps.  Even Deacon had his place out in the thick of things.  Nate would protect his civilian assets from taking the same risks, even if they may have disagreed with his assessment.

The alert from his Pip Boy paused their progress once more.  It was picking up a new radio signal.

_“This is Scribe Haylen of Reconnaissance Squad Gladius to any unit in transmission range.  We have sustained casualties and we are running low on supplies.  We are requesting support or evac from our position at Cambridge Police Station.”_

“Who the hell is that?” MacCready asked the obvious.

“I dunno, but it sounds like they could use our help,” Preston replied.

“Did she say _Scribe_?” Deacon inquired next.  “Bad news Boss, but that sounds like Brotherhood.”

“Brotherhood in the Commonwealth?”  MacCready huffed.  “Hell no.  Those jackasses were bad enough in Capital Wasteland.  What the hell would they be doing up here?”

“They go where the tech is,” Deacon answered with a shrug.  “A place like the Institute is likely to be a curiosity for them if nothing else.”

“It’s a recon team,” Preston added.  “That’s what she said, right?  Must be they plan to make a move into the Commonwealth.”

“Brotherhood?”  Nate really hated being “the guy frozen for 200 years” that needed everything explained to him.

“Walk and talk General.”  Nate didn’t argue as they continued down their alternate route.  It would take them near the station according to his Pip Boy.

By the time they made the hike, Nate had been brought up to speed on the basics.  It seemed MacCready and Deacon were both in the “Fuck the Brotherhood” camp while Preston was only slightly more lenient in the belief that they weren’t exactly people they wanted to call friends.  Even so, Brotherhood or not, if there were people in distress they couldn’t very well just walk right by and not do anything.

Nate had no way to know what he was getting himself into.

* * *

_“Nate?  Nate!  Come on man.  Wake up.”_

_“Damnit Mac, get him up.”_

_“He’s not answering jackass!”_

_“Both of you cut the crap.  Deacon, grab Nate and let’s go.”_

* * *

Danse was something out of left field.   _Paladin_ Danse.  Nate was impressed by the man to say the least.  Less impressed with Rhys.  Haylan made up for both of their lacks of personality.

Just like when he met the rest of his team, Nate felt an instant connection with these people.  In Danse he sensed a bond that certainly couldn’t be explained.  He wrote it off as one soldier recognizing another, but even Nate knew it as nothing more than an excuse.

They had spent the night at the station because of course their little side trip brought them to feral ghoul central near dark.  So Deacon and Nate spent the evening helping Haylan fix the comm tower on the roof, allowing them to broadcast their SOS in a wider net in hopes of receiving evac.  All the while Danse hung around, quietly observing- though Nate caught the man more than once observing _him_ rather than anything they were doing.

In the morning the Minutemen took their leave.  It was no surprise to them that the settlement they arrived at was having issues with ferals.  Preston got banged up in the process, Nate coming to his aid only to get claws slashed across his face for his trouble.  Deacon got bit on his arm, Mac taking the thing’s head off with a well placed shot, before getting pounced on from behind and needing a save in turn.  It wasn’t one of their finer moments admittedly.

Bandaged and bruised, it was a few days later when the Minutemen passed through Cambridge again.  Nate made it a point to swing by the police station to see if the small team had gotten out alright.  Except Danse and the others were still there and no contact had been made with the Brotherhood.

“Why not come with us,” Nate offered while Haylan was checking Deacon’s wounds.  She had already mother-henned Nate about the angry slices down his left cheek, the stitches not done to her satisfaction.

“We’re Brotherhood,” Danse argued automatically.

“I get that,” Nate replied.  “But this location isn’t secure.  I don’t have to tell you that.”  Danse grunted in agreement.  “You haven’t been able to reach anyone either.  I’m _suggesting_ that you come to the Castle with us.  You’ll be safe there and you can send word with the caravans that pass through.”

Danse frowned deeply, clearly not liking the idea much.  Not that any of Nate’s companions seemed keen on the idea either.

“You make a compelling argument,” Danse finally agreed.  “We’ll join you at your fortress until such time as we can rejoin the Brotherhood.”

“Perfect.”  When Nate smiled brightly up at Danse, he figured it was only his imagination that he received the hint of a smile in turn.

* * *

_“Goddamnit there’s so much blood.”_

_“Focus MacCready.”_

_“I am!  I’m focused on our Captain dying here!”_

_“He’s not gonna die.”_

_“Didn’t know you were a doctor now Deac.”_

_“Hey!  I see a power armor division!  I’m going ahead.”_

_“Garvey wait!  Goddamnit.  We don’t need someone shot on top of things.”_

_“Shut it and help me Mac.”_

* * *

Danse fit right in with their group.  So did Rhys and Haylan for that matter.  Honestly, Nate forgot all about the idea of them picking up and leaving one day.  They had become part of the family.

“You’re quiet today,” Nate commented.

“I’m always quiet,” Danse replied.  He was tinkering with his power armor, which Danse did quite a lot.  It was a tool against boredom between missions, plus Danse’s own obsessive want to always be prepared for battle.

Nate understood that as a soldier himself, but the Castle was one of the few places he allowed himself to relax.  Not that he wasn’t ready for an attack, his rifle hanging down across his back from the sling across his chest evidence of that.  They were relatively safe behind the Castle’s walls- repaired where it needed and refortified better than it ever had been before- and Nate would take any chance he got to not be turned _on_ for once.

Problem was that left him to be turned on in a completely different way.  And the source of that dilemma was standing right in front of him.  “More so than usual,” Nate clarified.  “Want a hand?”

“I’m good.”

“Avoiding me then.  Well, Deacon owes me some caps.”

“Avoiding you?”

Nate had been walking away, stopping to look over his shoulder at the clearly confused Paladin.  “Yeah.  I’ve been trying to talk to you for days but you just keep brushing me off.”  He turned to face Danse fully then.  “Told Deacon you were avoiding me and he claimed you were ‘stifled from your feelings of desire’ towards me.”

Danse’s brows lowered.  “Feelings of desire?”

“If it makes you feel any better, Mac said you couldn’t have feelings for me because robots don’t fe-”  Nate sighed, cutting himself off.  He probably shouldn’t repeat _anything_ that came out of MacCready’s mouth about Danse- most of it was vulgar.  “And Preston figures you just need your space.”

“I’m not avoiding you,” Danse assured, getting up to walk over to him.  “I just…”  He shook his head, looking away awkwardly.

Deacon wasn’t actually _right_ was he?  Oh, Nate would never hear the end of this.

* * *

_“Ya gotta help him Haylan.”_

_“I need you all out of my way.  Now.”_

_“Come on.  Let’s let her work.”_

_“Don’t fucking pretend you care Danse.”_

_“MacCready!”_

_“Save it Garvey.  I’m out of here.”_

* * *

“I dunno about him,” MacCready commented while they were lazing around the Dugout Inn.  The _he_ in question of course being Danse.

Valentine had sent word that he had a lead on an Institute Agent.  They had left Preston at the Castle to oversee some things and Deacon was off on Railroad business, so it had just been Nate and MacCready heading out when Danse asked to come along.

Power armor left in the room they were sharing for the night, Danse sat on one of the couches in clear unease while the pair waited for their drinks at the bar.  “Give him a chance,” Nate implored gently.

“Be nice to the boyfriend.  Got it.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“You want him to be.”

Nate blinked.  “And?”

“So then make a move already.”

“Last time I checked, you didn’t like him.”

MacCready huffed, grabbing the beer placed in front of him.  “That doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be happy.”  He left Nate there to pay Vadium and grab the beers meant for he and Danse.

Nate shook his head with a sigh.  “That man exists to drive me insane,” he muttered, taking a swig of beer before mustering the courage to join his friends.

He sat next to Danse, the heat of his body felt along Nate’s side as he settled in close.  That time he knew he wasn’t imagining the soft smile on Danse’s face.

* * *

 _“Please come back Nate.  I can’t- I can’t do this without you.  Please…  I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean any of it.  Please come back.  I… I love you.  I need you back Nate.  Please_ **_fight this_ ** _.  I know you can.”_

* * *

When Nate opened his eyes he was confused.  The walls around him weren’t the Dugout Inn.  The bed was certainly not the lumpy mattress he remembered falling asleep on.

He turned his head to find Danse sitting in a chair.  “Danse?”  His voice croaked a little, startling the man from whatever thoughts he’d been lost in.

“Nate!”  He practically leapt forward, reaching out to grab hold of him.  At the last minute he seemed to think better of it, hands clenching as he forced them down.  “How do you feel?”

“I… I dunno.  Where are we?  What the hell is-?”

“Just relax.  You got injured.”

Nate’s brows furrowed but he couldn’t remember.  “Did we go after Kellogg?”  He didn’t recall leaving Diamond City but maybe their mission to find the Agent had gone South.  “Is everyone else okay?” he checked just as quickly.

“Everyone’s fine.”  Danse looked confused.  “Not sure who or what Kellogg is though.  Was that the operation code you were using for your target?”

“Operation…?”  Nate rubbed at his forehead, already feeling a headache coming on.  That was when he saw the IV in his arm, a quick survey of his surroundings confirming he was in a hospital room.  “What _happened_?” he repeated, now even more confused.  Nothing about this space looked torn apart by the war.  It was all too… perfect.

“You were hurt during your mission.”

“Need a little more detail than that Danse.”

“Hold on.  Lemme call a nurse,” the man replied when Nate rubbed at his head a second time.  He pressed the call button on the bed.  “You shouldn’t be forcing yourself to remember.  Doc already said you had to take it easy when you finally woke up.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Two weeks.”

“Two-?  What the hell happened?!”  Nate felt the bubbling of panic seep up into him.

Danse shushed him immediately, taking his hand.  “Shh, relax.  It’s okay.”  He bent down, lips brushing across Nate’s forehead.  “You’re safe.  I promise.”  His free hand rested on Nate’s cheek.  “I’ll explain everything, okay?”

Nate’s hand came up to cover Danse’s own, slowing his breathing.  “Yeah.  Yeah, okay.”

The Nurse Handy drifted inside.  “You’re awake,” it spoke in a French accent.  “Zat is good.  If you don’t mind, I would like to take note of your vitals and then I will notify zee doctor.”

“Thank you Curie,” Danse said, taking a seat out of the way once more.

“You are very welcome Monsieur Danse.”

Clearly Danse had been there enough to get to know the Nurse Handy.  Then again, Nate wasn’t surprised.  Even with the fight that ended their otherwise loving and promising relationship, Danse was the type that would be there if he could.

When Curie was satisfied that Nate was stable, she encouraged him to relax and assured that the doctor on duty would be in to see him just as soon as possible.  The moment she left, Nate rested his head back on the bed and sighed, “I need a cigarette.”

“No you don’t,” was Danse’s automatic reply.  It managed to twist Nate’s lips into the hint of a smile.

Sobering, Nate asked once more, “What happened?”

“You were stabbed,” Danse supplied.  “One of those Dragoons.”

“Stabbed?”  Nate blinked, attempting to remember, but he couldn’t.

“Of course MacCready is kicking himself for ‘letting you get hurt’ and Deacon insists it was his fault for ‘faulty intel’ and Preston-”

“I get it.”  Boy did his head ever hurt.

His recon squad might have been the best in the business but damn if they didn’t drive him nuts.  Preston was his right hand, Mac the best sniper, bar none, and Deacon was an expert in stealth and strategy.

“You were supposed to be securing an outpost,” Danse continued.  “Apparently you were jumped along the way.  Garvey ordered an egress when you went down.  Thankfully my unit wasn’t far away.  Haylan was able to stabilize you while we called for evac.”

Nate gave him a brief smile.  “Tell her I said thanks.”

Now that he was more awake, and had a better sense of what happened, he felt a pull in his side.  Moving the hospital gown aside he saw the three sets of stitches there.  It was obvious as to where he had been injured now.  Clearly his attacker had known how to drive his blade to go underneath the light recon armor they wore.

“There was a lot of blood loss and internal damage.  I don’t know the details but they thought it best to induce a coma to allow your body to heal.”

Nate nodded, taking it all in.  He still didn’t remember but at least he knew the score now.  He rested his head back again.  After a moment he turned it to the side in order to look at Danse.  His fellow Captain seemed to be holding something back.  “What aren’t you telling me?”

Danse startled, looking up at him before just as quickly looking away.  “I… I’m sorry Nate.  About everything.  About the things I said.  About letting you get away from me.  I just…”  Danse shook his head, meeting his gaze.  “When I saw you I feared the worst.  I thought that I might lose you and that… that tore me apart.”

Nate held his hand out, beckoning Danse to join him.  The man sat on the edge of the bed at Nate’s hip, looking down at him.  “I love you Danse.  I never stopped.”

The tears Danse was holding back started to fall then and he slammed their mouths together in a biting kiss.  “I love you,” he spoke against Nate’s lips.  “Please don’t leave me.”

“Never.”

Their reunion was interrupted with the hoots of his squad as they entered the room.  Danse turned, wiping the tears away fiercely so they didn’t see.  Not that any of them were paying him any mind, far too concerned with Nate being awake to notice- or care.

“‘Bout time you woke up Sleeping Beauty!” MacCready barked, slapping Nate on the shoulder.

“Yeah, seriously Boss,” Deacon added.  “You had us worried there for a awhile.”

“Worried?” MacCready replied incredulously.  “I was scared shitless.”

Nate’s lips quirked.  “Aww, always knew you cared Mac.”  His best friend made a kissy face at him and Nate laughed.  He grabbed at his side as it stretched, biting off the hiss of pain.  “You suck.”

“Not for free.”

Preston rolled his eyes.  “Good to see you up Captain,” he told Nate with an obviously relieved smile.

“How the hell did you assholes get here so soon anyway?”

“We may have told that Nurse Handy to call us as soon as you woke up.”

Nate shook his head.  His hand fell to Danse’s, giving it an encouraging squeeze.  Things between him and the squad had been awkward- and rather hostile in the case of MacCready- since their split.  Danse’s lips twisted at the corner in thanks for the reassurance.

“What’re you still doing here Danse?” Deacon asked, as though they didn’t notice the bulky power armor unit Captain sitting on the bed before then.

“He’s a robot,” MacCready answered.  “He hasn’t left.”  It was an old insult, turn tease, turn insult again.  At least from the tone it seemed the man was back to teasing.  Maybe.  Hopefully.

“Oh, he did,” another voice spoke from the doorway.  Haylan stood there with Rhys.  It was amazing how different both Rhys and Danse looked out of their power armor.  Being intimately familiar with Danse though, it wasn’t so strange.  It was always odd though with Rhys.

Haylan stepped inside with a smile, sweeping around to the opposite side of the bed where Danse was as she continued, “I made sure to drag him out every now and then.”  She bent over to press a kiss to Nate’s cheek.  “Lookin’ much better there.”

“Thanks to you so I’m told.”  Nate reached out and snagged her hand, sincerity written across his face.  “Seriously.  Thank you.”  He looked around at all his friends assembled.  “All of you.”

“Anytime Captain,” Garvey assured.

“Yeah Boss, what are friends for?” Deacon added.

MacCready humphed.  “Just don’t do it again.”

Rhys stepped up beside Danse, grabbing the man’s attention.  “Sir, we have orders to roll out.”

Danse sighed but gave a nod.  “I’ll be there in a moment.”  Rhys and Haylan nodded, the latter wishing Nate a speedy recovery before they both headed out.  “Looks like it’s that time.”

Nate frowned but gave a curt nod.  They were soldiers.  This was what they did.

“We’re helping to lead a final push,” Danse explained.  “We’re going after General Jingwei.  If we can eliminate him and seize back the compound they overtook, Anchorage will be liberated.”

It was no easy task and the power armor units would be invaluable to the operation.  “I wish I could go with you,” was all Nate could say.

“So do I.”  Danse cupped his cheek, that flicker of a smile crossing his lips.  “But you need to stay here and rest.  I’ll be back in no time.”  Nate nodded, not dislodging Danse’s hand.  “I love you.”

Nate returned the sad smile.  “I love you too.”  He pressed a soft kiss to Danse’s lips.  “Stay safe out there.”

“I’ll be back,” Danse repeated, and he did smile then.  They exchanged one final kiss before Danse left for the battlefield.

Nate sighed, looking over at his best friend.  “Alright Mac.  Go ahead.”

“Go ahead, what?”

“Say what yer gonna say.”

“Nice to see him get his head out of his ass?”

Nate barked a laugh.  That wasn’t quite what he’d been expecting, but it was preferable to a lecture.  “Damn I love you guys.”

His squad gathered around him- Mac plopping down on the end of the bed, complete with a bounce, while Deacon and Preston pulled up a couple chairs.  It was enough to distract Nate from the fact Danse was headed back into battle, straight into the thickest and deadliest of the fighting.

Nate hadn’t needed to worry.

Not a week later, after the new year, Nate was standing on the tarmac waiting for his ride back to Boston.  Honorable Discharge.  Not like he was needed anymore with the reported victory.  With Anchorage back in their hands, Alaska was theirs again.

That was when he heard the clanking of power armor and a familiar voice called out his name.  Danse had hit the release on his suit, already stepping out when Nate turned around.  He ran to greet Danse, arms wrapping around his neck, unconcerned about the sweat and dirt that covered his skin-tight jumpsuit all the power armor operators wore.

“I knew you’d be back.”

“In more ways than one.”  Nate pulled back, brows lowered in question.  “We’re getting shipped back to D.C. in the morning.”

“Does that mean-?”

“There’s a month left before I have to re-up.  I figure I’ll just call it quits while I’m ahead.  About time I settle down.  Maybe start a family.  Have some kids.”

Nate laughed.  “Yeah?  And just who do you plan on starting this family with?”

Danse pretended to think it over.  “I hear Boston’s pretty nice.”

Nate smirked.  “You might regret it, y’know.  Leaving the military to live in the suburbs with a white picket fence and becoming a PTA Dad.”

Danse lifted a shoulder.  “It may not be the easiest decision, but it’s the right one.”  The arms around Nate’s waist squeezed after pulling him even closer.  “This is what I want Nate.  More than anything.”

“Semper Invicta,” Nate offered, watching the smile on Danse’s face.

The next month traveled at a snail’s pace, though it was worth it to open his front door in Sanctuary Hills to find Danse standing on his stoop in military fatigues.  Before Danse could say a word, Nate pulled him into a kiss.  “Welcome home soldier.”

Danse smiled down at him.  “Good to be home.”

/End

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [Tumblr](http://thedenofcaseywolfe.tumblr.com/).


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